In Executive Session on August 5th San Angelo's City Council approved the negotiation and execution of a lease of approximately 80 acres to OE Renewables Texas LLC. A search of state databases lead to OneEnergy Renewables.
Their website states:
“Utility-Scale” solar refers to projects with a generating capacity greater than 2 megawatts (MW) that provide power directly to the electric grid. To put this in perspective in terms of required land, a 2 MW solar project would require roughly 15 acres of land, and a 10MW solar project would require roughly 60 acres of land.
The land City Council approved for lease could support a 12.5 MW solar project. Representative Drew Darby pushed for the state to subsidize industrial scale solar in the 2011 Texas Legislature. I expect that push to return.
From the time we sign a lease, it typically takes 1 to 3 years to complete the solar development. This includes 18 to 24 months for the development phase and around 12 to 18 months of construction. Actual timelines vary by project and may take up to 5 years depending on market variability and state regulatory processes.
COSADC, the city's development corporation, worked the deal which council approved. It will be interesting to hear more details. I assume they will come before the public at some point, especially as OneEnergy's #2 commitment is to "be transparent."
It doesn't hurt that Texas wholesale energy prices are fixin' to jump into the stratosphere:
Peak wholesale energy prices will soar to $9,000 per megawatt hour in 2015 from $5,000 today. They went from $3,000 to $4,500 in 2012.Watch this deal and how the average citizen benefits.
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